Easy No-Sew Snood

From an old  fleece sweatpants from our nephew.  I love that it stays in place and so easy to make, all you need is a pair of scissors and the old sweatpants and voila! a nice snoodie to protect Louie's ears from chillblains!

From Greyhound Outreach

I got this from the greyhound rescue group from whom we got our 2 loving pups:   http://greyhoundoutreach.org/

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Believe it or Not

Greyhounds are the only breed of dog specifically mentioned in the Bible.
Greyhounds are the second fastest animals on earth. Only the cheetah is faster.
When running, Greyhounds spend 75% of their time in the air.
Some Greyhounds sleep with their eyes open.
Greyhounds come in 18 primary colors and over 55 different color combinations.
Greyhounds wear muzzles while racing to protect themselves from injury during the excitement of the race and to make it easier to determine the winner in a photo finish.
At one time only Noblemen could own a Greyhound.
Most Greyhounds are physically unable to sit.
Greyhounds have a higher body temperature than any other dog.
Greyhounds have significantly more red blood cells and a bigger heart and lungs than any other breed.  Red blood cells carry oxygen that helps them to run faster.
Greyhounds have a universal blood type and are used for blood donors.
Greyhounds have a 270-degree range of vision. They can see objects behind them and over ½ mile in front of them.
Greyhounds have stereoscopic vision, which means they are suited to seeing moving objects.  When calling a greyhound it is sometimes helpful to move your body while calling.
Greyhounds are in the top five gentlest dogs.
Some very famous people including Cleopatra, Christopher Colombus, Teddy Roosevelt, General George Custer, Bo Derek, Jackie Gleason, Babe Ruth, Al Capone, Betty White, Leonard Nimoy, Frank Sinatra, Queen Victoria and King Henry VIII have owned greyhounds.
Gray is now the least common color because at one time it was thought that gray dogs ran slower and the color was bred out.
A greyhound uses its tail like a rudder while racing.
Greyhounds are mentioned in 11 of Shakespeare’s plays.
A content greyhound will often “cockroach”  (lay on its back with legs up).
The day before Custer’s last stand, he sent his 40 greyhounds away with a soldier thus saving their lives.
For every greyhound registered with the AKC there are 150 registered with National Greyhound Association.
During a 30-sec race 100,000 watts of waste heat energy are produced, enough to bring 600 ml of tap water to boil in 2 minutes.
Greyhounds can loose up to 5 pounds in a single race.
Out of all the purebred dog breeds up to date, many animal experts have come to believe that the Greyhound is perhaps the healthiest breed of dog when it comes to staying clear of developing any hereditary health issues. It’s truly amazing how a dog breed as ancient as the Greyhound can have a practically perfect health record.

Sauerkraut for Beginners

Husby has read a lot on the health benefits of raw fermented foods (probiotics) so we are trying sauerkraut.  The local farmers' market just finished last week and we've managed to snag beautiful green and purple cabbages.  Now, I am quite anal about doing this right but I don't want to spend big bucks on an expensive crock that will just gather dust if  this doesn't go as planned.  So we searched on alternatives and found this blog

http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/2007/08/fabulous-ferments-making-sauerkraut.html

that lead me to this blog and this amazing sauerkraut and kimchi maker (jar)

http://www.therawdiet.com/pisaandkimch.html

I used 2/3 of a huge green cabbage and a rather big purple cabbage.  It took me hours despite using a food processor, the purple mess all over the counter just overwhelmed me.  But it was all worth it, husby and I have been watching our "experiment" as it turned from purple to fuschia to nice pretty pink right in front of us.  We are on day 5.  A couple more days and we will see if the taste is  worth all the efforts ;)  If this goes well, we will try kimchi next....

Beautiful Fall Colors

Taken before Sandy hit upstate NY and the rest of the US east coast last Monday.  Can't complain,  we are still lucky...

Critter room, etc.

Our family room is now  the critters' room...Hanna on the couch (where the humans rarely sit), Louie on the dogbed, and Sebastian tucked safely under the coffee table.  They work too hard (at sleeping all day) so every nap is well-earned ;)

One of the joys of summer is the abundance of locally grown fruits and veggies.  We are lucky to have a good farmers' market nearby.  The peaches and blueberries have been delicious.  Frozen blueberries or peaches plus vanilla almond milk in a magic bullet--healthy & yummy!  We have also made our first attempt at making our own tomato sauce.  For $10, we got 3 baskets of ripe tomatoes.  An organic 13.5 oz (and in a BPA free can like Eden) tomato sauce costs around $2.75 plus.  I haven't learned how to can so everything is frozen (we got a new chest freezer on sale last Memorial Day).  Freezing collard greens, garlic scapes and swiss chards also work.  Supporting our local farmers is always good aside from having fresh, less expensive and delicious produce.

Conjunctivitis in Greyhounds

A day before husby left for a business trip a couple of weeks ago, I noticed Louie's usually wide-eyed look turn into a squinty with eyelids almost slit-like look...Oh $!!$!, conjunctivitis!  True enough when I opened one eye, the usually white conjunctiva is red, with no obvious discharge though.  Maybe viral.  The following morning, there was already a yellowish discharge.  So off we went to the vet after dropping husby off at the airport.  Flourescein dye was applied to check for abrasions, thank God, Louie had none.  It was allergic conjunctivitis.  Vet couldn't specify what allergen.  We were given a triple antibiotic with steroid ointment for a week.  Fast forward to a week after the treatment, Louie's eyes are already  back to normal.  He also had his Lyme & distemper shots.  Unexpected trip to the vet= $167.00   Seeing your pup with no medical issues=PRICELESS!

Getting rid of Japanese beetles

These beetles are gold with greenish sheen and would have looked nice if  they weren't so destructive.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_beetle

They eat the leaves of fruit bearing trees, roses, cannas and our bonsai (maples, beech, hornbeams).  The easy way to protect the plants  is to use a commercial spray with nasty ingredients (malathion) but husband and I searched for an organic (safer) way to do it.   Traps are out of the question because they will attract more bugs in our area. An online search yielded an interesting suggestion.  Apparently,  having a bucket with some dishwashing liquid and a little bit of water  as the tool to kill these buggers is effective, at least based on our experience.  These bugs start to appear mid-late June  here in our area.  We kept an eye out for the first few bugs which are actually "scouts".  They survey areas and if they find a good one (lots of potential food), they summon more JBs.  So husband and I kept a bucket on hand and did our JB patrols.  Just a light tap on the leaf where these buggers are perched will send them right into the bucket.  Yes, we had a lacy leafed crab apple (15 ft) last year but at least, we didn't have damage in our bonsai. It is still to early too tell if our method reduced the JB number that will be coming to our yard this year (they are usually at their highest numbers mid July). 

JB update:  It is the 21st of July and so far,  the JB turnout this year is less than what we had last year.  Maybe we can also try the milky spore method this year.